Description

This is the slightly J-shaped crack with a flake near the bottom to the left of "Vanishing Point." Use the flake to hand jam/undercling/layback then get into the crack proper with more good hand jamming. Near the top the crack becomes an offwidth that protects with a #5 Camalot you can push up or similar wide pro. Use the bolt and chain anchor for VP to rap.

I did this climb a while ago when I thought I was climbing gobblers grunt. It was hard to find the twin finger cracks above.... anyways, true to beta for gobblers grunt I traversed into the crack to the left right below the wide part. Interesting variation, I'm not sure if it avoids the hard part or not.

The offwidth part is only hard if you stay deep in the crack. There are face features on the right side of the wide with ample flakes and foot ledges to get up without resorting to chicken wings and foot stacks.

As a new trad leader, this one was really rough. I started out in the wide crack to left put in a piece or two and transitioned over into the j. Nice jams to a take for quite a few minutes, continue up into the OW, #5 is nice to have about halfway through the thing. Agreed with Stitch, don't get to far in unless you're whining and need to rest like me. There are little knobs and good little flakes to work up this thing. Stop bitchin' and moanin', OH MY GOD!

I'm new to climbing and leading (2 months climbing and only a handful of trad leads), but I would wager that the "off-width" start is harder than 5.7. I've been able to lead up to 5.8 so far, and the "off-width" start has to easily be the hardest thing I've climbed. There is great pro as far as I was able to lead. I used up to a #4. Theres a fantastic hand/finger crack, that runs under the flake, inside of the main crack and it will accept 0.3.

From some of the other photos, I think that Nighttime Madness is farther to the left than the wide start.

Maybe my mouth is sour with the taste of defeat, but I hated that climb. I fell 3 times or so and each time my body got stuck in the crack before the rope stopped me. I was also dog tired at the time.